Apples
by If You Say So.x
Summary: A string of violent attacks on regular guests have the Host Club up in arms; to find the culprit and serve up some justice. And Kaoru is sure it has nothing to do with his strange new friend that has a few odd fixations. Rated T for paranoia's sake. OC death… Kaoru's and OC's POV.
1. Chapter 1

Ren's POV

I stared blankly out the window, tapping a strange pen I'd found against my lips. It was the oddest little thing – pale blue with a gaudy pumpkin stuck on the end.

Perched at my desk, I hovered over the new page of my journal, fresh and crisp, waiting for inspiration to strike. And – as per usual – ideas evaded me.

I looked around the class room, searching for something that could bring about a line or two for me to jot down. The room was mostly empty because of lunch, aside from one student at the back who was dozing steadily.

I was sitting here alone. Being the new girl had its advantages – I was being ignored, which meant I got the privacy I'd been after.

I picked up my apple and took a huge bite out of it – absolutely delicious. I regarded it, and noted the strange heart shape my mouth had left.

And I found my inspiration. Pumpkin pen in hand, I immediately began scribbling down lines in my almost illegible handwriting:

_And now you have scarred_

_My untainted skin with_

_The heart of your kiss._

I sat back, twiddling the pen in my hand – not my best work, but with some polishing...

My gaze wandered back to the many students that flooded the grounds of Ouran Academy. There was something strangely comforting about watching them run about, happily talking about things that amounted to nothing.

An ominous presence leaning over my shoulder dragged me away from my thoughts, but I didn't turn my attention away from the window. "What?" I said apathetically.

"That's my pen." The voice stated rather possessively. I sighed, and held the pen over my shoulder.

"Here. Sorry, I found it on my desk, so I used it."

The voice was accompanied by the shifting of a chair. "It's okay, you can keep it." He said lazily.

"Oh, thanks." Now my curiosity was peeked. Looking to my right, I saw a boy with auburn hair and hazel-gold eyes, intensely studying my face.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable under his heavy gaze.

"Are you new?" he inquired. I nodded, and he smiled at me. "Nice to meet you, then. I'm Kaoru – Kaoru Hitachiin." His face looked smug.

"Is that name supposed to mean anything to me?" I said blandly, and smiled on the inside when his face dropped.

"My mother's a famous fashion designer." He said, holding his hand up in an 'if you must know' gesture.

"Oh, good for you." I said. I looked back down at my journal, thinking of something else to write. But I was too distracted by the boy who was still sitting close beside me. This was getting irritating. "Look, what do you want?"

"Do you were contacts?" he asked, curiously.

This was a question I got asked a lot – too often in fact. My mother had had light blue eyes flecked with purple and silver, and my father extremely pale green eyes, outlined in a nutty brown. And I, ever the misfit, landed with one of each.

So to hide this, I normally covered the green eye with thick layers of my fringe. It must have moved out of place at some point.

I quickly messed my hair up so that half my face was covered. "No." I said forcefully, praying he would take the hint. And of course he didn't.

"Wow. I've never met someone with two eye colours. It's… unique."

I didn't reply, and started to doodle rose vines around my latest addition to the journal instead.

"Hey, what're you writing?" He said, leaning over my desk. I snatched the book away from his view.

"Listen, that's really none of your business, _Kaoru_."

He smiled at me. "I write poetry too. Come on, let me have a look."

I gave in, and shoved the book towards his chest. His eyes flickered over several pages. I regarded him, and noticed that he was genuinely interested.

The classroom door opened, and a voice called in. "Hey, Kaoru, come on. Milord will yell at us if we're late again."

I glanced over, only to see a perfect copy of Kaoru standing in the doorway – only their hair was parted separate ways. My eyes darted between the two, until Kaoru looked up at me and laughed.

"That's Hikaru. We're twins."

I nodded in understanding. Kaoru got up from his chair, my notebook still firmly in hand.

I stretched my palm out to him, and he blinked at it. "I want to finish reading what's in here." He said, waving the notebook around. "I'll give it back to you at the end of the day. Come find me at Music Room 3, south building."

And before I could object, he was gone, taking all my deepest thoughts with him.

I hung round the corner of the hallway. Sneaking a quick look, I counted at least 30 excited, gushing girls, all crowded round the door of the third music room. At first I wasn't really sure what to make of the situation.

I knew something weird was going on, but no matter what, I had to get my notebook back. I also knew that being around so many people would make me feel uncomfortable, but now I had priorities.

Dragging my feet slightly, I made my way down the long corridor. All the high-pitched chatter and squeals died down as 30 sets of eyes turned and looked at me – a mixture of confusion, and disgust. And personally, I wasn't surprised.

My style was what I hoped you would call distinctive. I'd gotten permission from the chairman to alter the uniform to fit me. So I'd taken the boys blazer and shirt, leaving out the tie, and added a tight black skirt that cut off half way down my thigh. I was taller than the average girl my age, and my spindly legs attracted a lot of attention, so I hid them underneath a pair of black and purple striped tights, and I wore the girls black shoes.

My hair was slightly louder than the other girls here – I'd dyed it black the previous summer, and by now my roots had grown out, revealing my dull brown hair. It looked as though I had dip-dyed it, and I liked it. My hair was layered, making it look thicker and slightly bouncy, and my fringe fell over the left side of my face covering one of my garish eyes.

Overall, I obviously stood out of the stereotype at Ouran, and most girls considered me an eye sore because of it.

Before the whispers could start, the double doors flung open, and the screaming crowd pushed and shoved to get in. I stopped in my tracks and blinked at the spectacle before me. I needed to write this down – it was pure gold.

The doors shut behind them, and I stood staring at the handle. Reaching out, I opened the door a crack, peaking my head round and scanning the scene.

It was a grand room, just like the others here, only it was full of little tables and chairs, tea sets, plenty of girls, and surprisingly a few boys.

I stepped in, and was immediately attacked by a shower of rose petals. Brushing them away, I walked further into the room. It looked like a massive tea party.

And that's when a boy just taller than I was approached me, a large black clipboard in hand. "Excuse me, may I help you?" he asked, an obviously fake smile planted on his lips.

"I'm looking for Kaoru Hitachiin." I said calmly. There were too many people in here; it was doing my head in.

"Do you have a booking?" the raven-haired boy asked.

I blinked at him, surprised. "A booking… a booking for what?"

His smile twitched slightly at the sides. "You do know where you are, correct?"

I shook my head. "Look, all I know is that Kaoru told me to find him here after classes had ended."

The boy exhaled, and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'll take that as a no. Well, my dear, you are standing in the infamous Ouran Host Club. Welcome."

I stared blankly at him for a minute, and then keeled over laughing. "A- a Host club?" I said between fits of laughter. "Oh gosh, that explains the air heads." I straightened myself out. "Look, I'm not here as a guest or anything. I just need my notebook back. Kaoru took it."

"Ah, I see. Well in that case, Kaoru!" He called out, and a familiar red head popped up over a sea of girls. "Could you come here for a minute please?"

He jogged over, and glasses-boy turned on his heel and left us. I scratched my head – he was a strange one.

Kaoru smiled down at me – not he welcoming smile from earlier. More of a 'ha-ha, my plan succeeded' sort of smile.

"Can I have my notebook back, now?" I asked. There were too many voices – my head ached.

He produced my small purple journal from his blazer pocket and passed it to me. "You have serious talent, you know… err…"

"Ren. Ren Shiori." I said quickly, holding my book close to my chest in case he tried to take it again.

"Ren… that's a weird name, don't cha think?" He said, hands on hip, leaning down to my level – he was only slightly taller than me.

I raised my eyebrow at him, a slight smirk playing on my lips. "Isn't Kaoru a girl's name?"

His face went slightly red. "Hey, it's a boy's and girl's name!" he huffed. I giggled softly, I couldn't help it.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out another apple. I took a huge bite out of it, and between chews said "Well, if that's all, I'll be on my way." I span around on the small high heel of my shoe and was about to walk out, when a firm hand grasped my wrist.

I dropped the apple, and jerked free of Kaoru's grip. "Get off me!" I yelled out. _Oh God, not now. Don't freak out now. _My head screamed at me.

"Woah, take it easy." He said, holding his hands up defensively. "I just wanted to ask you if y-" he took a step towards me, and I yelped, stepping back against the door.

"Please, just stay away from me." My voice sounded choked, and hot tears threatened my eyes. I supressed that urge to scream out, and fumbled behind me for the door handle.

"Hey, Kaoru, what's going on?" a small brunette boy asked, who I recognized from my class.

A crowd started to gather round us. There were too many people, too many voices. My wrists ached, and my throat went dry.

"Please… just… stay away from me." I whispered out, tears trailing down my cheeks, as the room span and my head hit something hard.

"Ren!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N; Whaaaaaa-? She updated something other than Haruhi's Apocalypse?**

**Well stop the fricking presses.**

**Writer's block **** Personal stuff **** Flu **** More writer's block **** UPDATES! Enjoy.**

Kaoru's POV

I sat there and waited. She was taking her sweet time with waking up. Although she had hit her head pretty hard on the floor earlier. I exhaled. My gaze flickered over to the door that slowly opened.

"Ah, Kyoya-senpai. What are you doing here?" I asked, slightly confused that he would take time to visit someone unimportant.

"I came to check up on sleeping beauty, here. She gave us all quite a scare. And she did faint on our property, so it's only proper that I check on her well-being. " He said, casually lifting his shoulders.

I turned my attention back to my new friend. "What can you tell me about Ren Shiori?"

Kyoya took his black book out from under his arm and flipped it open. He shuffled through a few pages until his eyes flashed. "There isn't much to tell by the looks of it. She was adopted into the Imamura family 10 years ago, and transferred here after her home-schooling tutor retired. She's 15 years old, introverted, and has a talent for creative writing. She's also considered an outcast because of her – what's considered – undesirable appearance." He snapped the book shut. "That's all I can tell you for the moment."

I rested my chin on my palm. "Adopted, huh?"

Kyoya nodded. "I don't have any information on her birth parents. I can do some extra research, if you like."

I shook my head. "I'll respect her privacy."

The shadow king smiled. "An admirable decision." He readjusted his glasses. "Well, as long as she's doing okay, I have no business here."

Kyoya turned on his heel and casually walked out the room.

I heard a mumble escape Ren's mouth, and immediately snapped to attention.

"Hey, Ren. Wakey wakey." I said, waving my hand in front of her face.

She rolled over to face away from me. "5 more minutes…" she grumbled.

I laughed, and sank back in my chair. "How're you feeling?"

She sighed, and slowly sat up. "Dizzy. What happened?"

"You passed out in the club room. So we sent the guests home and I brought you to the nurse's office. You're in one of the private rooms."

"Oh, I see.2 she said, nodding in understanding, before reaching up and gripping her head. "Ouch…"

I raised my hands. "Easy, you smacked your head pretty hard. Just try to relax a little, okay?"

She blinked at me for a second, before pointing over to her blazer I had put on the other chair in the room. "Left side pocket. Get me an apple, would you?"

I cocked my head to one side, but didn't question her. I walked over to her blazer, reached into the pocket and pulled out a fresh red apple. I noticed that in her pocket were an assortment of others as well – it looked as though the pocket had been enlarged to hide more of these little fruits.

I shook my head, and chucked the apple to Ren. She caught it, and took a huge bite, chomping happily.

"You sure like apples…"

She shrugged. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?"

I laughed under my breath. "So, what happened to you? You were fine one minute, and then you completely freaked out."

She stopped mid-bite, released the apple from her mouth's grip, and cleared her throat. "Claustrophobic."

"Oh, I see…" I said quietly, although I knew that wasn't why. Something just seemed wrong with her explanation.

"Hey, Kaoru, can we get out of here please? I feel really uncomfortable in places like this…" she asked, throwing the core into the waste basket.

I ran one hand through my hair. "Sorry, the nurse said you shouldn't be walking around much, at least not for another hour anyway. I told her to contact your family, so they should know you're coming home late."

Ren screwed up her face in irritation, then fell back against her bed.

"Anyway, I should probably go check on my brother – he hates being left alone – but I'll be back in twenty minutes, 'kay?"

She stuck her thumb up in the air, and I walked out of the room.

Ren's POV

The door clicked shut, and I relaxed a little.

"What the hell happened to you, Ren? You should be over this by now…" I said aloud to myself. I pulled the thin blanket up over my head.

I sat there for a while – at least ten minutes – until I heard it. A scream, coming from the adjoining room. I stared at the door for a second, before launching towards it.

When I opened it, the room was completely black. The short, high-pitched shrieks were coming from somewhere in the middle of what I guessed was another private room. I fumbled around on the wall closest to me until my fingers brushed against the light switch.

The fluorescent lights flickered on, and my eyes found a girl bolt upright in bed, grasping at her wrist and crying out in pain.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" I exclaimed over her cries.

The girl looked up at me with pure terror. "No, get away from me!" she yelled, tripping out of the bed and over to the other side of the room.

I raised my hands in surrender. "Hey, calm down!" I said, walking over to her and gripping the girl's shoulders in an attempt to rationalise her.

The main door flung open and several doctors, along with Hikaru and Kaoru, flooded the room.

The girl struggled out of me grip and ran to one of the nurses. "You have to help me!" she said, flustered, and she turned and pointed a finger at me. "That girl just attacked me! I was sitting here when the lights went out suddenly, then I felt a hand digging it's nails into my wrist, so I started screaming… and then… th-then the lights came on and she was in here! She must have done it!"

I stood there, mouth hanging open. _This is ridiculous…_


End file.
